1 88 Management of Cages 



the owners' rooms, persons, and general surroundings 

 are soigni and cared for. One sees bird cages in the 

 conservatories or sitting-rooms of the richer classes, 

 in a state lacking in smartness that would never for a 

 moment be permitted elsewhere in the establishment, 

 either in the house or garden. 



It does not always seem completely important that 

 a cage should not be splashed with remnants of stale 

 food and dirt, that the perches should not be soiled, 

 that the water should be scrupulously clean, or the 

 food perfectly sweet and fresh. A bird must not be 

 a mere ornament in a room, an adjunct to the rest of 

 the surroundings. The cage must be placed where 

 the position will suit the inmate ; not merely where 

 it will be least in the way or look most picturesque. 

 As we study the wants of our children and dogs, so 

 also, in a comparative degree, our birds. Fresh air 

 is important for their well-being, but a draught is 

 hurtful, and sometimes fatal. Housemaids, unless 

 strictly warned, are very apt when sweeping the 

 rooms in the early morning to allow birds to be left 

 exactly between an open window and door on a cold 

 winter's morning, when perhaps they have no food 

 left from overnight — especially in the case of in- 

 sectivorous birds — wherewith to maintain the warmth 

 of the body. 



I have not found that the cages, except in cases 

 of illness, require covering over at night ; indeed, like 

 the old four-posters with the curtains drawn tightly 

 around, they would necessarily keep out the fresher 

 air and shut in the stale. 



